Bonmarché collapses into administration

Women’s fashion chain Bonmarché has fallen into administration, putting more than 1,500 jobs at risk.

Bonmarché, which has 225 stores around the country, was owned by retail tycoon Philip Day.

His other chains –

Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Peacocks and Ponden Home stores – collapsed into administration last month.

Administrators said the stores would continue to trade while options for the business were explored.

Damian Webb and Gordon Thomson of RSM Restructuring Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators of the firm, known as BM Retail Limited.

Mr Webb said: “Bonmarché remains an attractive brand with a loyal customer base. It is our intention to continue to trade whilst working closely with management to explore the options for the business.

“We will shortly be marketing the business for sale and based on the interest to date, we anticipate there will be a number of interested parties.”

Yorkshire-based Bonmarché specialises in clothing for the over-50s.

It has been in and out of administration before, most recently in October last year, but it was rescued a month later.

The collapse of the chain adds to a grim week for the High Street, after Debenhams announced all its stores were set to close for good and Topshop owner Arcadia fell into administration.

Those two retailers employ 25,000 people between them.

In both cases, tough trading conditions and long-standing difficulties have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced stores to close for lengthy periods during 2020.